Smart Home – What is behind the trend ‘Intelligent House’ ?

The word smart home immediately conjures up thoughts of a self-shopping refrigerator or a laundry robot. But that is not (yet) one of the areas of application of a smart home. But what exactly is a smart home, how can it be controlled and, above all, how does it change our everyday life?

Smart Home – Control your home directly from your smartphone

The three most important aspects that unite a smart home are comfort, energy saving and security. In these three areas, the systems should support us and stand by our side. For this, however, not much technology is needed, as one or the other might think at first, because smart homes can be set up quite easily and they include already known things, such as wireless sockets, smoke detectors or dimmers. The only new thing is that all these things are networked with each other and with the smartphone or tablet and can therefore be controlled. For example, a smart home system makes it possible for the dishwasher to stay in contact with the smartphone via radio and send a message as soon as the dishes are clean.

More comfort – this is how intelligent houses work

Smart home systems include a number of components. These include wireless sockets, window sensors, smoke detectors, LED lights or dimmers. These are controlled via a central unit and are also networked with each other. Time control and individual scenarios are made possible via WLAN.

So it is not only possible to control your house from the comfort of your sofa and, for example, to turn up the heating when your feet get cold or to lower the shutters when the TV is switched on, but it is also possible to adjust your house to time sequences. The individual lighting mood can be determined automatically according to the time of day and the incidence of light, or the front door or the garage door can be opened when you come home from work and drive up in your car. It gets even more exciting when the individual systems are linked together and run via software. This way, the house not only thinks with you, but even ahead of you. On a hot summer day, the awning is extended thanks to the heat sensor, the lawn sprinkler is started and the air conditioning in the house ensures a pleasant temperature for you. So your comfort is increased enormously by a smart home and you enjoy in their own four walls as many conveniences as never before.

The installation – how your house changes with Smart Home

Anyone who is now worried about large costs, conversion measures or the like should be warned, because this is no longer necessary. A few years ago, a smart home was only possible in new buildings or with large conversion measures in old buildings. Cables had to be laid and prices quickly reached several thousand euros. Today, smart homes are fortunately very easy to install, even in rented apartments. This is made possible by the current module solutions, which connect by radio in the close range or via the power grid as a data line over distance and make their home quite uncomplicated Intelligenter. However, you do not have to purchase the complete package directly. For those who want to start slowly, there are starter packages that are tailored to different areas. Whether wireless sockets and LED lights to be able to control the light via app or wireless thermostats and window sensors to regulate the heating in an energy-saving way. If you are convinced by the system, you can easily expand the starter sets and make your home smart bit by bit.

Saving energy – how to go green with smart home

Energy saving is one of the most important aspects of the smart home, besides comfort. So you can inform yourself about the power consumption of all devices in the house via your smartphone and also switch them ON and OFF. If you have a solar system on your roof, you can even get information about the energy produced. So with just one tap, you can turn off all appliances when you leave the house, or just the ones that use the most energy. After all, the best way to save energy is to turn off appliances that don’t use energy unnecessarily while you’re not even in the house. But this is not the only way to save energy; you can also regulate gas consumption via heating controls. Wireless sensors on windows register when and how they are opened, forward the information directly to the control centre and the software automatically regulates that the heating thermostats go down. The heat does not escape to the outside and energy is not wasted unnecessarily. This is also handy if you forget to switch off appliances or turn down the heating before you go on holiday. You can easily do this via your smartphone and save energy.

Advantages & disadvantages – Smart Home in the test

Of course, a smart home also has advantages and disadvantages. Making your home a smart home is a decision that should be well thought out, because such an intelligent house is far from being for everyone. You have to completely change your habits and get used to the new way of living.

Advantages of a smart home – comfort, energy efficiency, security

The advantages of comfort and energy efficiency have probably already become very clear, but there is another aspect that forms a major advantage of smart homes. The security. Because a smart home can make your home safer. Whether it is playing through various lighting scenarios in holiday mode or a WLAN connected camera at the front door can detect a break-in. The smart home provides security and can even protect against fire or water damage. Thanks to the wireless connection, you can switch off the forgotten iron or the cooker while you are on the move, but water detectors can also detect a burst water hose, even if the water level is only 1.5 millimetres. You will immediately receive a message on your mobile phone and can react immediately and prevent worse damage. Investing in a smart home can not only protect you and your home, but also your wallet.

Disadvantages of a smart home – committed to one manufacturer

However, the systems of the intelligent house still have one disadvantage today. The individual systems of different manufacturers are not compatible with each other. This is mainly because the manufacturers use different transmission paths. Some rely on Bluetooth, others on land and still others use power lines. So it’s no wonder that the systems can’t cooperate with each other. Fortunately, more and more manufacturers see the need to make their devices more compatible and are therefore working together. So there is a ray of hope in sight to finally eliminate the last flaw of smart homes.